INTRODUCTION: Whereas apraclonidine has eclipsed cocaine test in the exploration of unilateral miosis in adults, its use in infants is avoided because of the risk of central nervous system depression. This chart review evaluates the usefulness of cocaine drops in infants. METHODS: Infants under the age of one referred for unilateral miosis between November 1, 2009 and November 1, 2015, were reviewed. Patients underwent the following protocol: (1) in case of isolated miosis, cocaine test was performed...

BACKGROUND: Although thoracic paravertebral block (TPVB) is recommended in major breast surgery, there is no gold standard to assess the success of TPVB. Pupillary dilation reflex (PDR) is the variation of the pupillary diameter after a noxious stimulus. The objective was to evaluate the feasibility of recording the PDR to assess analgesia in an anesthetized thoracic dermatome after TPVB. METHODS: This prospective, observational, single-center study included 32 patients requiring breast surgery under general anesthesia and TPVB...

The superior orbital fissure syndrome (SOFS) is a rare condition presenting as painful unilateral opthalmoplegia, ptosis, pupillary dilatation and anesthesia of the upper eyelid and forehead. It has been described after facial trauma. Other etiologies include infections, tumors or spontaneous hemorrhages in the retro-orbital space. Occurrence of SOFS after surgery in the skull base has not been described before. We recently encountered a case where a young female developed SOFS following surgery for cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) rhinorrhea...

Background Autonomic dysfunction and light sensitivity are core features of the migraine attack. Growing evidence also suggests changes in these parameters between attacks. Though sensory and autonomic responses likely interact, they have not been studied together across the spectrum of disease in migraine. Methods We performed digital infrared pupillometry while collecting interictal photophobia thresholds (PPT) in 36 migraineurs (14 episodic; 12 chronic; 10 probable) and 24 age and sex-matched non-headache controls...

Clinical assessment of pupil appearance and pupillary light reflex (PLR) may inform us the integrity of the autonomic nervous system (ANS). Current clinical pupil assessment is limited to qualitative examination, and relies on clinical judgment. Infrared (IR) video pupillography combined with image processing software offer the possibility of recording quantitative parameters. In this study we describe an IR video pupillography set-up intended for human and animal testing. As part of the validation, resting pupil diameter was measured in human subjects using the NeurOptics(™) (Irvine, CA, USA) pupillometer, to compare against that measured by our IR video pupillography set-up, and PLR was assessed in guinea pigs...

This study evaluates the capability of pupillary parameters to detect and predict delirium in the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU-D) following general anesthesia. PACU-D may complicate and prolong the patient's postoperative course, consequently increasing hospital costs. After institutional approval, 47 patients undergoing surgical interventions with general anesthesia were included in the study. We measured the pupillary reflexes at signing of informed consent, during surgery 20 min after intubation and when the primary inhaled anesthetic was turned off, and 15 and 45 min after PACU admittance and upon discharge from the PACU...

PURPOSE: There have been several studies investigating static, baseline pupil diameter in visually-normal individuals across refractive error. However, none have assessed the dynamic pupillary light reflex (PLR). In the present study, both static and dynamic pupillary parameters of the PLR were assessed in both the visually-normal (VN) and the mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) populations and compared as a function of refractive error. METHODS: The VN population comprised 40 adults (22-56 years of age), while the mTBI population comprised 32 adults (21-60 years of age) over a range of refractive errors (-9...

Echinococcosis causes a hydatid cyst, a worldwide disease. Human beings are intermediate hosts, but dogs complete the life cycle of the cestode. The most common presentation sites are the liver and lungs. We present an unusual case of a primary splenic hydatid cyst. Open splenectomy has traditionally been the treatment of choice for splenic hydatid cysts. In recent years, minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery has been used in appropriate cases. A healthy 48-year-old woman was scheduled for laparoscopic splenectomy...

BACKGROUND: Immediate postoperative pain could be prevented by the administration of long-lasting analgesics before the end of the anaesthesia. However, to prevent over or underdosing of analgesics under anaesthesia, tools are required to estimate the analgesia-nociception balance. OBJECTIVE: We investigated whether the pupillary dilation reflex (PDR) and the nociceptive flexion reflex (NFR) at the end of general anaesthesia correlate with immediate postoperative pain, as a sign of analgesic underdosing, and with delayed tracheal extubation as a sign of analgesic overdosing...

BACKGROUND: Pupillometry allows the measurement of pupillary diameter variations in response to nociceptive stimuli. This technique has been used to monitor the balance between analgesia and nociception. Under general anesthesia, the amplitude of pupillary dilation is related to the amount of administered opioids. The objective of this study was to determine whether at a constant infusion rate of opioids, the pupillary response was influenced by depth of hypnosis assessed by the bispectral index (BIS)...

We report a rare case of an infant with both an aneurysmal dilation of the patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) and bilateral congenital iris sphincter agenesis. Her mydriasis without pupillary light reflex was first noted after a massive intraoperative bleeding episode during the PDA ligation. The assumption that the mydriasis was a sign of cerebral ischemia led to additional examinations and intensive medical therapies that in retrospect were unnecessary. This is the first reported case of combined aneurysmal dilation of a PDA and congenital iris sphincter agenesis in the anesthesia literature...

OBJECTIVE: No objective vision biomarker for photosensitivity currently exists. The present study sought to uncover potential biomarkers for photosensitivity within the pupillary light reflex. METHODS: The pupillary light reflex was evaluated in those with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and in normal individuals, with and without photosensitivity, under a range of test conditions. The Neuroptics DP-2000, infrared, binocular pupillometer was used for both binocular stimulation and recording...

PURPOSE: To determine if mTBI adversely affects the pupillary light reflex (PLR). METHODS: The PLR was evaluated in mTBI and compared to normal individuals under a range of test conditions. Nine pupil parameters (maximum, minimum and final pupil diameter, latency, amplitude and peak and average constriction and dilation velocities) and six stimulus conditions (dim pulse, dim step, bright pulse, bright step, bright red step and bright blue step) were assessed in 32 adults with mTBI (21-60 years of age) and compared to 40 normal (22-56 years of age)...

PURPOSE: This study aims to identify which aspects of the pupil light reflex are most influenced by rods and cones independently by analyzing pupil recordings from different mouse models of photoreceptor deficiency. METHODS: One-month-old wild type (WT), rodless (Rho-/-), coneless (Cnga3-/-), or photoreceptor less (Cnga3-/-; Rho-/- or Gnat1-/-) mice were subjected to brief red and blue light stimuli of increasing intensity. To describe the initial dynamic response to light, the maximal pupillary constriction amplitudes and the derivative curve of the first 3 seconds were determined...

PURPOSE: Adrenergic medications may elevate the upper eyelid and dilate the pupil. The effects of topical phenylephrine on Müller's muscle have been well described. Dilute epinephrine (DE) is a sympathomimetic agent commonly administered in blepharoptosis surgery, and has been shown to elevate the upper eyelid margin when injected subcutaneously. The effects of DE applied topically to the eye, whether intentional or inadvertent during surgery have not been characterized. The purpose of this investigation was to quantify and compare the effects of topical DE and phenylephrine on upper eyelid position and pupil size...